


If I Hurt You

by TheEnglishLetterCIsObsolete



Series: Never Tear Us Apart [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: (it doesn't work out), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Five Is Not A Therapist, Gen, The Apocalypse, Vanya Hargreeves Is Not Okay, Vanya Survived The Apocalypse, but he tries anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-19 13:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEnglishLetterCIsObsolete/pseuds/TheEnglishLetterCIsObsolete
Summary: "Five is supposed to back off now. That’s the rule, back off if the moon is mentioned, but he can’t. If he backs off now, he’ll end up leaving her here, and she’ll die alone at the end of the world. So he pushes instead."





	If I Hurt You

“Five?“ Vanya whispers. It’s softer than the sound of Five’s charcoal against stone, but it’s the only sound in the whole world that matters any more, so Five hears anyway. He pauses in his calculations.

“Hm?“

“When you figure out how to get back,“ Vanya says, even quieter, “you have to leave me here.“ 

“What! I won’t do that! Why would you even ask me to do that!“ Five speaks before he can think, and his mind comes running after, at a million miles per hour. It doesn’t make any sense, why would she want stay? Is she that afraid? How had he missed that? How could he have? The charcoal is already on the floor, and he’s turned to face Vanya, but she’s sitting facing away. 

“I can’t risk it.“ she mutters.

That’s all the confirmation Five needs. Their interactions have always been careful, inching forward and leaping away at the first sign of trouble. They had to be, Vanya insisted, and he’d just been so glad to have her that he hadn’t questioned it. But now he sees. He’s let Vanya crawl into a hole and bury herself right under his nose. Now he knows he has to dig her out. 

He approaches her carefully, “I won’t leave you here,” he says. 

Vanya looks up at him. Her eyes are brown, and her face is flushed. “What’s the point of leaving the apocalypse if you’re just going to bring it with you.”

“That’s insane!“ Five can’t help but shout, “What happened back then was extenuating circumstances!“ The ever present wind picks up, and Vanya pales.

“I destroyed the wor- the moon!“ she yells. Five is supposed to back off now. That’s the rule; back off if the moon is mentioned. But he can’t. If he backs off now, he’ll end up leaving her here, and she’ll die alone at the end of the world. So he pushes instead.

“You’d just gone cold turkey on an emotion dampening medication you’d been taking since you were four, you’d just discovered that you’d been lied to for your entire life, and that the only person who seemed to care about you was actually using you to get back at your family, you’d never had any training with your powers, you never even knew about them, and not only did they resurface at the most tumultuous possible moment in your life, they happened to be powerful enough to destroy the moon! Of course you destroyed the moon! It’s like everything was perfectly arranged to make that happen! Now that you know, though, it’s not going to happen again. I’m far from the answer Vanya, there’s plenty of time for you to gain better control.” 

By the time Five runs out of words, Vanya’s crying, and the howling wind is glowing white around them. He can see his charcoal caught up in the gale.  

“Go away!“ she shouts over the wind, “You have to leave. You promised! I’ll hurt you!“ Five ignores her words, walks towards her instead. Vanya curls up and holds her head, sobbing. The charcoal flies directly at his face, leaving a black mark on his nose. He kneels down beside her, then tears through space to her other side as a much larger rock flies through the space he’s just left. The wind tugs at his jacket and at his hair. He touches her. A pulse of light sweeps out and flings him away. He tries to jump again, but the light won’t let him, so instead, he lands on his back in a pile of bricks.

What happens after that is hazy. All of Five’s genius gutters out for a moment, and all he can think of is how much it hurts. By the time he gathers enough of himself to think, “At least I know my spine’s intact,” Vanya’s gone.

* * *

She returns that evening, with a couple rats, practically a delicacy. Five’s managed to drag himself back to the wall he was figuring on before, and splint his broken leg. Vanya helps him with his arm.

They eat in silence, avoiding each other's eyes, and then fall asleep back to back.

In the morning, Five’s alone, and Vanya’s taken half the clothing. 

There’s new writing on the wall:

_ I’m so so sorry Five. This is all my fault, I should have gone far away the first time I saw you. I love you so much, and I’ll miss you so much, and that’s why I can’t endanger you any longer. Goodbye. I hope I never see you again. _

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr: https://viviantimmet.tumblr.com


End file.
